Tray having hinged, recloseable lid with locking feature

Abstract

A container having a tray portion and a cover sealed to the peripheral top edges of the tray. Cut score lines on the inner side of the cover provide a splitting of the paperboard of the cover upon opening to allow the cover to be peeled from the tray to a hinge at the back edge of the tray. Offset double cut score lines may be provided on the upper and lower sides of the cover at the front edge of the tray, which will split upon opening of the cover to yield overlapping locking flaps which can be used to reclose the cover. Flanges may be attached to the lateral side edges of a paperboard tray by cut score hinges, and adhered to the inner side of the cover to provide layer separation of the flanges upon opening rather than layer separation of the cover. Alternatively, double cut score lines can be formed along the lateral sides of the cover in position to register with lateral side flanges on the tray, which split and provide overlapping locking flaps when the cover is opened. The cover can then be completely removed from the tray upon opening, and is reclosed by inserting the locking flaps on the removed portion of the cover under the locking flaps projecting from the tray.

I claim: 
     
       1. A container comprising: (a) a formed plastic tray having a bottom and sides and peripheral edges defining the top opening in said tray, said peripheral edges including front and back edges and a pair of lateral side edges, and outwardly extending flanges affixed to and extending outwardly from the front, back and side peripheral edges of said tray,   (b) a substantially flat paperboard cover having outer and inner sides, the inner side of said cover being adhered to said peripheral flanges of said tray in position covering the open top thereof, said cover having score lines cut partially through the inner side of said cover at positions inwardly adjacent to the front edge of said tray and adjacent to the lateral side edges of said tray and a hinge line formed therein adjacent to the back edge of said tray, said cover additionally having a score line cut partially through the outer side of said cover substantially parallel to and spaced outwardly of the cut score line in the inner side of said cover at the front edge of said tray, said outer side cut score line extending substantially the length of the front edge of said tray and intersecting said inner cut score line at its ends, said cover being adhered to said front flange only at the area of said cover between said outer side cut score line and the edge of said cover, whereby when said cover is pulled upwardly from the tray by a user, the cover will split at the areas of adhesion between said cover and the flanges of said tray along the lateral sides thereof and between said outer and inner side cut score lines at the front edge of said tray, and will hingedly open about its hinge line at the back edge of said tray, the splitting of the cover between said outer and inner cut score lines leaving a first split thickness locking flap remaining on the tray at the front edge thereof with a second overlapping split thickness locking flap at the front of the remaining of the cover which may be engaged under the first locking flap to allow reclosure of the cover on said tray.   
     
     
       2. The container of claim 1 wherein said tray is a thermo-formed plastic blister tray. 
     
     
       3. The container of claim 1 wherein said hinge line along the back edge of said tray on said cover is formed as a cut score line partially through the inner side of said cover to allow rotation of the remainder of the cover about said cut score line upon opening of the cover. 
     
     
       4. The container of claim 1 wherein said cover is sealed to said tray by a heat sealed polyethylene adhesive. 
     
     
       5. The container of claim 1 wherein the inner side of said cover is sealed with a polyethylene sealer. 
     
     
       6. The container of claim 1 including a notch formed on one of said side flanges at a position adjacent to the front edge of said tray, and wherein said cover is not adhered to said tray at an area of the flange proximate to said notch to provide an initial opening position for pulling off said cover from said tray. 
     
     
       7. The container of claim 1 wherein the outside lateral edges of said cover are in substantial registry with the outside lateral edges of said tray to facilitate splitting of said cover along the lateral edges during opening. 
     
     
       8. The container of claim 1 wherein cut score lines are formed in the inner side of said cover substantially in registry with the outside lateral edges of said tray to facilitate splitting of said cover along the lateral edges during opening. 
     
     
       9. A container comprising: (a) an open topped tray having a bottom, and at least front, back, and lateral side walls connected together and having a top peripheral edge defining the top opening in said tray, a front outwardly extending flange affixed to and extending outward from the front peripheral edge of said tray, and a pair of outwardly extending flanges affixed to and extending from the lateral peripheral edges of said tray;   (b) a substantially flat paperboard cover having outer and inner sides and being hingedly connected to the back edge of said tray, cut score lines formed in the inner side of said cover adjacent and parallel to said lateral side edges of said tray with the area between said inner lateral cut score lines and the edges of said cover being adhered to said lateral flanges of said tray, whereby when said cover is pulled upwardly by a user from the flanges of the tray, the cut scored paperboard cover will slit in the area between said lateral cut score lines and the lateral edges of the cover to leave a split thickness layer of paperboard remaining adhered to said lateral flanges and a split thickness layer of paperboard remaining integral with the rest of the cover, and wherein said cover additionally has a score line cut partially through the inner side of said cover adjacent and parallel to said front edge of said tray and another score line cut partially through the outer side of said cover substantially parallel to and spaced outwardly of the cut score line in the inner side of said cover at the front edge of said tray, said outer side cut score line extending substantially the length of the front edge of said tray and intersecting said inner cut score line at its ends, said cover being adhered to said front flange only at the area of said cover between said outer side cut score line and the edge of said cover, whereby when said cover is pulled upwardly from said tray by a user said paperboard cover will also split between said outer and inner side cut score lines and will leave a first split thickness locking flap remaining on the tray at the front edge thereof with a second overlapping split thickness locking flap at the front of the remainder of the cover which may be engaged under the first locking flap to allow reclosure of the cover on said tray.   
     
     
       10. The container of claim 9 wherein said tray and flanges thereof are thermo-formed plastic.